Schnitzhut von Sumatra, Insel Enggano - Indonesien (Ohne mindestpreis)

Southeast Asia, Indonesia, southwestern Sumatra, Enggano Island, ca. 20th century CE. A wondrous and rare example of a hand-carved wooden hat known as an epaku. The hat presents with an open cylindrical base, openwork fins, and a flat upper platform. The top of the headdress is surmounted by an abstract simian figure in a crouching pose with stocky legs, sinuous arms with long-fingered hands covering the ears, and a bulbous head with almond-shaped eyes and a protruding tongue. Small pieces of Silver around the Epaku. A Epaku headdresses were typically worn by aristocratic women acting as chiefs during the "kaleak baba" ceremony to invoke blessing for forthcoming harvests and hunts. The figures atop the headdresses were thought to symbolize a slain enemy, and the ceremonies ended with feasting, singing, dancing, and performing.

Measurements 24x 13cm